FRISCO, Texas -- The 2008 season has been something of a rollercoaster for FC Dallas midfielder Andre Rocha. In the first half of the season, the Brazilian international was a revelation, leading the Hoops with six assists. However, between June 15 and August 23, he struggled and was absent from the scoring column.
Part of the reason was that FCD made a coaching change in mid-June. Gone was the 3-5-2 formation employed by Steve Morrow and in was a 4-4-2 from new coach Schellas Hyndman, who expected Rocha to man the right flank and get up and down the field.
When the Brazilian wasn't able to meet those expectations, Rocha became frustrated. It began on July 27, when he played just 66 minutes in a 4-0 home win against the LA Galaxy. And on Aug. 23 at Kansas City, he left the field after being subbed out at the 66th minute.
Rocha didn't play a full 90 minutes until Sept. 13, when his second goal of the year allowed the Hoops to leave RFK Stadium with a point in a 2-2 tie with D.C. United. In the meantime, Hyndman came to realize that a traditional 4-4-2 wouldn't work with his current roster and has instead used a formation with a tighter diamond, which has benefited Rocha greatly.
"It's a 4-4-2 but not a traditional 4-4-2," Hyndman said. "It's been compromised to play more of a diamond because of the qualities of our players, not just him but Eric (Avila), Marcelo and Dax (McCarty). When you look at how many players we have on our team, they're all pretty much central midfielders. The only one that's probably a natural flank player is Victor (Sikora).
"So, I think understanding that and giving players a little bit more freedom also brought the best out of Andre," Hyndman continued. "But since I've been here, it's been a rollercoaster for him. He came out after 70 minutes and didn't want to come to the bench. Now, he's one of the players we rate as having a very good game."
Part of the issue for Hyndman with Rocha during that stretch where he wasn't playing a full 90 minutes was what he perceived as a lack of fitness, something he no longer sees as a problem.
"He's really worked hard these last four weeks to improve his fitness," Hyndman said. "The reason I was taking him off the field was that his fitness wasn't good enough to do that work rate. It could've been worse. He could've been a flank player in a 3-5-2 and had to go from penalty box to penalty box. But now, I see he's at his best when the ball is on his feet and a lot of people are. Being out wide, he wasn't getting the ball enough. This way, he might be on the right side of the diamond but at any moment, he could be up top or on the left side. It's very mobile."
However, Hyndman admits that since he has tweaked the 4-4-2, he has seen Rocha respond in a positive manner.
"Once we did that, he started being a better player instead of getting stuck out wide and trying to do the things maybe he wasn't able to do," he said. "I've never really had a problem with Andre on the field. I think he's tried to do the things I wanted him to do. I think sometimes off the field with issues that carry on maybe affect his mentality and his play.
"I think recently he's been very good for us. He's assisting on goals. He's being part of the strike force. He's serving balls and he's working on both sides of the ball. I think he's been a good addition to the team."
In Sunday's 4-1 win at Chicago, Rocha assisted on two goals and also figured in a third, clearly one of his best performances of the season.
"It was a good game," Rocha said. "I think our team went in very well. We have good concentration as we're heading into the end of the season. Each of us knows that we have to give more of ourselves. What's important is getting those results. We knew we were playing away from home and had to go in there ready. We knew that they had players like (Cuauhtemoc) Blanco and that we had to be at our highest level. We think that if we continue playing like that and that if everyone keeps giving 100 percent, it will be very difficult for us to lose."
Like his coach, Rocha clearly sees a positive change in playing in Hyndman's system.
"One of the things with me before when we were working it, I was very opened up and distant from the others," Rocha said. "Now, I'm in the middle, where I feel the closeness and am more involved. The three guys -- Pablo (Ricchetti), Marcelo (Saragosa) and Bruno (Guarda) -- are all good players. They know how to touch the ball quickly, which contributes to us being able to play that way. We understand each other. It seems to be helping me more as well as the team."
That formation also allows him to see play develop much quicker, which in turn, allows him to be more involved in the attack as well as on defense.
"One of the things is that it depends on how the plays develop," Rocha said. "When I'm defending, I have to be near the line and stay close. But when we do have the ball and depending how it's developing, I can go wide, I can go in and go up. Those are the kinds of things that you can see more from that spot."
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